Have you noticed that gas prices are pretty high? You have? Oh. Well have you also noticed that the media stories about this seem to explain the record high prices as “supply and demand”? Well is that the real story? Howell Raines says it’s not so simple. He’ll explain how the big oil PR machine shapes our understanding of gas prices. You won’t be cheered up by this, but you will have a little more fodder when you debate your friends on drilling in ANWR.  

If you even glance at the cable news stations you know that Barack Obama is touring Iraq and Afghanistan. How have the troops over there received him? And how has the media been portraying it? We’ll hear from Ben Smith of Politico.com  on that last point. He also has some interesting anecdotes from the world tour like the anti-terrorism dress code the Obama campaign instituted. Also, guess which magazine got banned from the campaign plane? We’ll tell you all that and then some.

The best news from abroad is that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Malaki pretty much endorsed Barack Obama’s withdrawal plan.

We’ll also talk about a few legal topics in the news ranging from the start of detainee hearings and “jury” selection to how to blog without being sued for libel.  Oh, and some activists in San Francisco are trying decriminalize prostitution and unionize the “working girls.” What do you think about that?

And so much more ….